AUBURN, Ala. – Georgia is headed back to the SEC championship game. And this time the Bulldogs aren’t backing into it.

In fact, they’re playing their best football of the season.

Auburn, meanwhile, continued to slide further into its abyss of a season.

Georgia went into Auburn on Saturday night and eviscerated its rival, winning 38-0 and clinching a second straight SEC East title.
Last year Georgia’s division-clinching win came in a closer-than-expected win at home over Kentucky. This year the opponent was worse – Auburn’s record dropped to 2-8 – but the Bulldogs (9-1) never let it be a game.

Georgia’s offense established control right away, scoring touchdowns on its first four drives and taking a 28-0 lead into halftime. Once again, Georgia’s freshmen tailback tandem of Todd Gurley and Keith Marshall each rushed for 100 yards. Gurley’s was his seventh 100-yard game of the season, and he will enter next week’s game 27 yards away from a 1,000-yard season.

Quarterback Aaron Murray had a nearly-perfect night, starting the game with 10 straight completions. He finished with 208 passing yards and three touchdowns, each to a different receivers.

It was a clear-cut rout for the Georgia offense over Brian VanGorder, who guided Georgia’s defense from 2001-04, and is in his first season as Auburn’s defensive coordinator. The final score probably could have been worse if the offense didn’t pull its starters for the final quarter.

The Georgia defense, meanwhile, played its key starters almost to the end, seeking its first shutout of the season. The Bulldogs got it, with star Jarvis Jones again leading the way. The All-American from Columbus had two sacks, bringing his SEC-leading total to 10.5.

Following Georgia's season-turning win over Florida on Oct. 27, the Bulldogs have defeated their next two opponents by a combined score of 75-10.

Next up is Georgia Southern, followed by Georgia Tech, and then the SEC championship game.

About Jason Butt

Jason Butt joins The Telegraph after spending the past two years covering high school sports for The Washington Post. A 2009 University of Georgia graduate, he's also covered the Baltimore Ravens and Atlanta Falcons for CBSSports.com.